CityRetail

Hey friends. Please note that I’ve migrated the CityRetail blog over to http://www.cityretail.com/ , where all new posts will live. There’s a new blog post up now, titled “Summer Lovers” – check it out at above cityretail link. I’ll post updates on this site when new posts go up; therefore if you are subscribed you’ll still get the link. Thanks for reading! /Jesse

I know it has been ages since last post but I assure you CityRetail is still alive and kicking. We’ve been working on a new cityretail.com that I’m hoping to bring live next week. It will be easier for you to read and easier for us to manage and update.

Generally, It’s been a great spring for CityRetail. Area Four opened three weeks ago and has been a big hit. I’m super proud of CityRetail’s work on this deal and think the concept, food and team is so solid. Chef Gary Strack’s Firebrand Saints will open mid-Summer and as with Area Four, I think folks will be treated to something fresh, exciting and super tasty. Also just opening is another one of CityRetail’s big projects from 2010, Bosse City Club (Health Club and Spa), which, like Area Four and Firebrand, is a highly entrepreneurial and innovative retail offering that matches the vibe here in Kendall. Oh, and then there’s Kendall’s very own 110 tap beer joint: Meadhall, which also opened last month…

I’ve got lots more to share and will do so with more regular posts as soon as the new site is up. For now though, here are a handful of links and press about some of our recent projects and neighborhood happenings:

I’ve known for a while that CityRetail’s bandwidth is significantly limited with just Dave and I running the show and I’ve thought hard over the past six months about the type of person we need to bolster the team. Conventional wisdom suggests that I should bring on someone with extensive retail real estate experience but for now I’m going in another direction…

What CityRetail needs now is another entrepreneur – someone who appreciates and understand how we have created new space in the marketplace and somebody who understand that space. I want someone who has run their own small business; someone who understands the entrepreneurs and businesses we are working on deals with. The real estate and leasing stuff can be taught; what I nor anybody else can do is teach what it’s like to actually run a restaurant and make your living accordingly.

Patricia Woodard is the Patty in “Mike & Patty’s,” a sandwich shop in Boston’s Bay Village neighborhood. Mike & Patty’s is good; really good. It’s the number one rated restaurant on Yelp! Boston and it’s a local favorite. Patricia recently (and on very good terms with Mike) left Mike & Patty’s and when I met with her earlier this year to talk about her transition we realized that CityRetail might be a great place for her to land. We spent much of Feb and March talking about how this could work, Patricia took her real estate exam (and passed in flying colors!) and now we are off and running.

Patricia’s experiences have ranged from food writer to cheese buyer to cook. She’s been working in restaurants for all of her adult life and she’ll bring this experience to CityRetail, where she’ll continue working with restaurants and cafes. She’ll bring a new lens for us to look through at CityRetail and I’m super excited about it.